Best Pet Rescue Stories 2016

1 The cats in the burning home

The Orrville, OH, Firefighters Association was called to put out a house and barn fire earlier this year, but when they got there, they found out something they didn't expect — trapped cats.

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2 The caged polar bear

Image Source: Flickr user flickrfavorites

PETA and the Wild Animal Sanctuary rescued Fifi from a caged enclosure where she'd been kept for 20 years after the zoo she'd previously been a part of closed down.

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3 The dog whose vet kept her company in her cage

Image Source: Flickr user cart_wheels

In case you missed it, there was an abandoned dog in Georgia that was so scared to eat breakfast that her veterinarian climbed into the cage to keep her company and encourage her to eat. When Dr. Andy Mathis met this pup, now called Graycie, she was sick and afraid and on the verge of needing to be put down, but he wouldn't give up on her.

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4 The disabled horse rescued by PETA

Image Source: Flickr user willgphotography

PETA happened upon mini horse Sebastian when he was hurt, hungry, and scared. Volunteers rescued him from a barren pen and took him away to hopefully nurse him back to health.

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5 The puppy at the baseball stadium

Image Source: Flickr user primejunta

A puppy abandoned at a baseball stadium might sound like the beginning of an Air Bud movie, but it actually happened to poor little Daisy — and now she's destined to stay there for life. When she was found wandering the parking lot of Grayson Stadium in Savannah, GA, the president of amateur baseball team the Savannah Bananas decided to adopt her.

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6 The abandoned shelter dog

Image Source: Flickr user grant_subaru

We heard about Bobby, a 1-year-old terrier mix at Miami-Dade Animal Services, and how his family dumped him at the shelter last December. Volunteers at the shelter dressed him in a festive green sweater for Christmas in hopes that a new family would take him home and show him the love he desperately needs. But by the time February rolled around, Bobby was still at the shelter and his time was running out.

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7 The deaf puppy who found a deaf owner

Image Source: Flickr user justbeingdust

Shelter animals with disabilities often have a hard time finding homes, but it was love at first cuddle for deaf puppy Walter and his new owners, Julia and Chrissy Vasquez. This heartwarming video from the Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA shares Walter's rescue story, which has an extra inspiring angle: his young new human is also deaf, and together Walter and Julia are taking the world by storm.

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8 The rescued dogs who comforted each other

Image Source: Flickr user 9258photo

Earlier this year, a dog was found in the streets in South Carolina with gaping wounds and nearly dead. The good people at Paws and Claws Clinic took the dog in, named him Sammie, and worked tirelessly to help him out. He and another rescue, Simon, became fast friends when Simon came to comfort Sammie.

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9 The senior dog who was left behind

Image Source: Flickr user greencolander

When we heard about a senior dog and a younger dog that were rounded up as strays and brought to a shelter in California a couple months ago, we were absolutely heartbroken at what happened next. According to The Sacramento Bee, both dogs belonged to the same family, and when they came to claim them, they ended up surrendering the senior dog in favor of the younger one.

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10 The Pit Bull puppies who stuck together

Image Source: Flickr user mickitakespictures

In April, three Pit Bull puppies, Chase, Klondike, and Häagen Dazs, were brought into the Washington Humane Society after being completely neglected by their owner.

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11 The dog rescued from a meat farm

Image Source: Flickr user wablair

In mid-February 2016, Humane Society International was able to shut down a Korean dog-meat farm — cold, exposed to the elements, and stuck in cages for their entire lives, the dogs who were rescued had never experienced human kindness.

One of the rescues, a Golden Retriever named Casey, had a much different reaction to her newfound freedom than any of the other meat farm rescues. While her furry peers were frightened and unsure about life outside a tiny cage, Casey responded well to humans, leashed walks, and even a regimented bathroom schedule.

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12 The dog covered in glue

Image Source: Flickr user crazymandi

This pup was tortured, drowned in glue, and left for dead. The glue hardened and nearly killed Pascal by cutting off his circulation, but thankfully some gracious rescuers picked him up to save him. He'Art of Rescue has worked tirelessly to cut off all of Pascal's fur to remove the glue, and surprisingly the dog is doing OK.

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13 The fire department dog

Image Source: Flickr user petsadviser-pix

Looking at Jake the Hanahan, SC, firehouse dog now, you can't really tell the rough life he once had. When he was just a pup, Jake nearly died in a shed fire before being rescued by firefighters. Even worse, his family abandoned him after that. Luckily, Jake was rescued by firefighters again!

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